Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 10 Nov 2011

Vol. 746 No. 2

Tributes to President Mary McAleese

An Ceann Comhairle

The House will now hear tributes to President Mary McAleese. Before the proceedings commence, I feel obliged to remind Members that in the ordinary course, the President is above and beyond debate in the House. The order made earlier today does not alter the fact that the President is not answerable to the House and that in accordance with long-standing rulings of the Chair, the conduct of the President in office is not open to criticism, direct or indirect.

Members should be mindful that the early order does not allow for reference to the President-elect. I will now call on the Taoiseach to address the House.

The Taoiseach

I wish to share time with the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Eamon Gilmore.

An Ceann Comhairle

Is that agreed? Agreed.

The Taoiseach

As President McAleese takes her leave of Áras an Uachtaráin today, she can be happy that as she says goodbye to her home of the last 14 years, she travels out into a country so much better for her being its President. Over the years we became accustomed to her warmth, her compassion, her love of life and her approachability.

The facility and fluency she achieved in humanising and personalising the role of the President never, on a single occasion, took from the dignity and solemnity of the office. Even this alone made her Presidency one to watch. It is easy to forget that she reared her family while in office. Her shy young children Emma, SaraMai and Justin, became teenagers, students, graduates. Her husband, Senator Martin McAleese, was strength itself to the President not only as a loving and supportive husband, but as her engineering partner in the complex business of building bridges. What they achieved together, with and for communities, was as remarkable as it was brave. It leaves relations between the peoples of this island on a stronger, warmer and more confident footing. Their work gave us a great gift of insight — the ability to stand in the other's shoes. It gives us common territory of the heart and mind, on which we can strike out on new journeys and imagine new possibilities.

There is so much to say about our exemplary, departing President. She was there to comfort and reassure in times of crisis. After the Omagh bombing, she gave calm and eloquent voice to the shock and revulsion of all the peoples of our island. On 9/11, her words brought the solace and security of home to our Irish family, grief stricken, across the Atlantic. In every parish across our country, people felt touched and uplifted by the presence of their President. She had the same beaming smile for everyone.

The first among equals, she made equality, real equality, the hallmark of everything she undertook, every community centre she opened and every hostel she visited. Today, her last official function was to open a Society of St. Vincent de Paul refurbished building for homeless men in Dublin. It is no surprise that President McAleese chose to spend her last official moments with the marginalised, the excluded, and those who work with them. It is a testament to the compassion and generosity of her Presidency.

For me, two of the more recent iconic images come to mind. Two women, head to toe in black, standing silently beside each other: our President and Queen Elizabeth at the Island of Ireland Peace Park in Messines. On this, the eve of Armistice Day, it is a good time to say that President McAleese went a long way to fulfilling the dream of the nationalist and proud soldier, Tom Kettle, who died in the Great War. As he wrote:

This tragedy of Europe may be, and must be, the prologue to the two reconciliations of which all statesmen have dreamed — the reconciliation of Protestant Ulster with Ireland, and the reconciliation of lreland with Great Britain.

The second image is that of the Queen of England coming here and the closing of that circle of history.

At her inauguration in 1997, President McAleese quoted Apollinaire:

Come to the edge.

They said: We are afraid.

Come to the edge, you said.

They came. You pushed them and they flew.

I wish Mary, Martin and the family every luck and happiness in the long years ahead. Even if she had never been President, it would still be an honour to call her my friend.

Go raibh maith agat, a Uachtaráin dhílis, agus go n-eirí go geal leat as seo amach le do chlann agus d'fhear céile, Mairtín.

Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (Deputy Eamon Gilmore)

On behalf of the Labour Party, I am honoured to offer thanks and congratulations to President Mary McAleese as she completes her 14-year term of office today.

During the recent presidential election, there was extensive discussion and debate about the Office of President and the desirable attributes in one who holds that office. In fact, those are things that it is extremely difficult to articulate in an abstract fashion. The simple truth is that we know a great President when we see one. It is fair to say that President McAleese was not entirely a household name when she first offered herself for election to her office. In that election, she won the support of the people of Ireland through her obvious personal qualities, her impressive qualifications, and her message of bridge-building and peace-making.

Since that time, she has gone on to win over not just the minds of the Irish people, but also their hearts. Over 14 years, she has come to be held in the highest esteem by the Irish people.

The Office of President is hard to define. A President is as much a moral as a political leader. A President shares in the good times and is a pillar of support in bad times. President McAleese was all of these and more. From the very beginning she made it her mission, in her own words, to build bridges on the island of Ireland. She made it her particular mission — assisted by her husband, Senator Martin McAleese — to establish connections with people in the loyalist community in particular, people who have in the past been alienated, not just from the South, but in some cases from the rest of society in Northern Ireland. In undertaking this work, the President and Senator McAleese have been prepared to take risks, but they have achieved quite dramatic results. I pay particular tribute to them today.

It is widely known that President McAleese worked tirelessly to improve relations, not just on a North-South basis but also between Ireland and our nearest neighbour the United Kingdom. She has spoken in particular of the importance that she attached to the recent and highly successful State visit by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth. This was a true milestone in the improving and maturing relations between our two countries.

I understand that Queen Elizabeth has today written to President McAleese, offering her own thanks and congratulations on the occasion of her stepping down from office. She has recalled with fondness their many meetings, beginning at the Peace Park in Messines and culminating in the recent State Visit. I believe it fair to say that their joint work has contributed greatly to the huge advances that have been made in Anglo-Irish relations in the past 14 years.

A President is, quite rightly, referred to as our first citizen. In a republic all citizens are equal and in this Republic we do not confer titles of nobility on each other. Yet, we also know that a republic stands or falls on the willingness of individual citizens to serve it. President McAleese has been a true embodiment of this ideal of public service. She has been the first citizen, but also the first servant of the people. I offer her my warmest thanks and congratulations. I wish her, Martin and their family health and happiness in the years ahead. Go n-éirí le Máire Mhic Giolla Íosa ins na blianta atá romhainn agus ár míle buíochas léi as a sár-obair, as a saothar agus as torthaí a huachtaránachta.

Deputy Micheál Martin

Tá mé buíoch as an seans seo a fháil chun omós a léiriú do Mháire Mhic Giolla Íosa mar an t-ochtú Uachtarán ar an tír seo ar feadh 14 bliaina. Tá Máire Mhic Giolla Íosa tar éis a bheith inspioráideach. Anseo ag a baile agus thar lear bhíomar ariamh bródúil as ucht obair Mháire Mhic Giolla Íosa.

Is Uachtarán í a bhí ciallmhar agus neamhspleách sa phost. Is toisc sin a bhfuil áit speisialta aici i gcroíthe mhuintir na hÉireann. Thug sí seirbhís dhílis don náisiún seo. Níl aon dabht agam ach go mbeidh áit onórach aici i stair na tíre seo ins na blianta amach romhainn.

Article 15.1.2o of the Constitution defines the Oireachtas as consisting of the President, Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann. It is, therefore, appropriate that we take time today in Dáil Éireann to pay tribute to President Mary McAleese on this her last day in office. As Ireland’s eighth President, she has done an outstanding job and represented the country fantastically well for 14 years. It is said a week is a long time in politics. Fourteen years is a significant and lengthy period in any person’s life and an extraordinarily long time to dedicate oneself to the role of Ireland’s first citizen.

Mary McAleese is one of only four Presidents, alongside Seán T. O'Kelly, Éamon de Valera and Patrick Hillery, to serve two full terms in office. It is fair to say that during this lengthy period, every day at home and abroad, she has been a President who has made the people proud. She has carried out her duties wisely and independently, motivated only by her overwhelming commitment to serve the people. For the skill and warmth she has shown throughout her long tenure in Áras an Uachtaráin, she rightly enjoys a special place in the hearts of the people. Her service to the nation has been immense and her legacy is one of extraordinary public service.

We are blessed that each of the people who have held the role of Uachtarán na hÉireann has distinguished himself or herself and the office he or she has held in trust for the people. That I believe history may well record Mary McAleese as our finest President underlines the ability she has shown in her time in office. The country has truly benefited from her Presidency and the contribution she and Senator Martin McAleese have made to Irish society since 1997 has been superb.

Mary McAleese's Presidency will forever be synonymous with the cause of peace. This is appropriate because she was our first President to be born in the North. She was the first to hail from the historic province of Ulster. From the outset, she put reconciliation at the heart of her Presidency. She sought election under the theme of building bridges and she has delivered on this theme spectacularly. It is important to say this was no easy task.

When Mary McAleese set out on the journey of reconciliation that would define her Presidency, the Good Friday Agreement was not in place and many were sceptical that she would be able to deliver on her pledge to improve relations on this and with the neighbouring island. Her work and achievements in peace building are a credit to her perseverance, warmth, political skills and judgment.

Mary McAleese was assisted every step of the way in the work of promoting peace and reconciliation by her husband, Martin. It is appropriate to acknowledge his energy, determination and wisdom in extending the hand of peace and friendship to so many.

When Minister for Foreign Affairs, I had the pleasure of working closely with President Mary McAleese and Senator Martin McAleese. I know how valuable the work they have done has been and will prove to be for the development of a shared Ireland beyond conflict. I was especially struck by the work they did to listen to, understand and reach out to people in the loyalist community. Prior to Mary McAleese's Presidency, many of the people in question may have had ingrained suspicions, or worse, about people on this side of the Border. The President has done so much to foster understanding and trust across the island. Hers has truly been a healing Presidency for which we and all future generations will be grateful. On behalf of the entire Fianna Fáil organisation and all its members, I thank her sincerely for her tremendous public service on behalf of the people on the island of Ireland.

Many say the Presidency is above politics, but that is not the case. It is a highly political office, but it is removed from party politics. As a party, Fianna Fáil was proud to nominate Mary McAleese and campaign vigorously for her election in 1997. We are prouder still of the integrity, independence and impartiality she has shown in office. Taking the oath of office on 11 November 14 years ago, she pledged to "maintain the Constitution of Ireland" and dedicate her "abilities to the service and welfare of the people of Ireland". She has faithfully kept that promise. The Presidency belongs to the people and, by her actions, Mary McAleese, has been the people's President. She has been inclusive and open and is someone in whom people from all political affiliations and none can share pride and look to for inspiration.

During the downturn in the country the President has been a voice for community values, civic spirit and solidarity. She has travelled the length and breadth of the country meeting people and supporting community projects. She has shone a spotlight on marginalised groups and it is no surprise that one of the final things she will do today as President is to support the homeless in the capital.

During my time as Minster for Foreign Affairs, on many occasions I had the honour of representing Ireland abroad with President McAleese and can readily testify that as an ambassador for the country, she was passionate and effective. On trade missions she would come into her own and her presence and diplomatic skills have helped to secure investment and jobs for the people. It is right that this be acknowledged.

For many, the highlight of the President's two terms in office was the visit of the British monarch to our shores in March. This was the culmination of President McAleese's long and dedicated work for reconciliation and a visit the President had hoped for many years would happen. The credit belongs to her and the then Taoiseach, Mr. Brian Cowen, who had the courage to back his analysis that such a visit was desirable as "part of the normal courtesies enjoyed by friendly, neighbouring states." We cannot ignore our history and long interaction with Britain, nor should we deny people in Northern Ireland the right to identify themselves as being British or Irish, or both. What is especially positive about Queen Elizabeth's visit is the further transformation of relationships between Ireland and Britain as another major step on the journey of reconciliation. President McAleese has our enduring gratitude for the role she has played in this regard.

If the visit of the British Queen was a happy day in Mary McAleese's Presidency, there were also dark days, in which the people drew solace from her and the articulate way in which she lifted spirits, expressed our collective hurt and captured the national mood. I still remember vividly the manner and dignity in which she conducted herself in the aftermath of the Omagh bombing, in addition to the powerful interview she gave following the events of 11 September 2001. For so many, the Presidency of Mary McAleese has meant so much in so many ways.

I thank President Mary McAleese for her distinguished service to the nation. She has worked tirelessly and diligently on the people's behalf and we all wish her well in her new life as a private citizen. In addition to extending my gratitude to President McAleese and Martin, I acknowledge the contribution made by the President's children, Emma, SaraMai and Justin. I wish all of the McAleese family success and continued health and happiness in life beyond the gates of Áras an Uachtaráin. Go raibh míle maith acu.

Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin

Ar son fhoireann Shinn Féin san Oireachtas agus san Tionól sa Tuaisceart, ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabháil le hUachtarán na hÉireann, Máire Mhic Giolla Íosa, as an sár-obair atá déanta aice le 14 bliain anuas. Inniu a lá deireanach in oifig an Uachtaráin agus is maith an rud go bhfuil an t-ómós seo á thabhairt againn di agus dá fear céile, Martin.

On behalf of the Sinn Féin Oireachtas Members and our party representatives across the island, I express our gratitude to the outgoing President, Mary McAleese, for her 14 years of service as Uachtarán na hÉireann. This is her last day in office and it is fitting that we should mark the occasion with some words of thanks in the Dáil.

Mary McAleese will be remembered as a President who made a very significant, long-term and consistent contribution to the building of lasting peace and true reconciliation in Ireland. She came to office in 1997 when the peace process was at an early and very delicate stage. The Good Friday Agreement was yet to be negotiated. When that Agreement was reached it was followed by months and years of delay, doubt and, at times, despair. Many doubted that it could be made to work. However, through persistence and patience it did work. It has been implemented and huge advances have been made away from conflict and inequality and towards lasting peace and equality. Society in the Six Counties has been transformed and the whole island of Ireland has benefited.

If the peace process could be compared to a tapestry, one of the brightest threads running through it would be the role of President Mary McAleese and her husband Martin McAleese. They consistently championed the potential of a new dispensation on this island. They worked in a very special way for reconciliation between the diverse traditions in Ireland. They undoubtedly made a significant contribution to mutual understanding. They helped to make dialogue a reality, encouraging communities in the North to engage as never before.

As she came from the North President McAleese brought an understanding and a personal commitment to the work of peace and national reconciliation. She was a President of the Irish nation, as defined in Article 2 of the Constitution which states: "It is the entitlement and birthright of every person born in the island of Ireland, which includes its islands and [territorial] seas, to be part of the Irish nation." During the presidential election there were some who lost sight of that article. For them, a permanent mist has descended on a part of our island and of our nation. There were some who continued to display the type of mindset that in 1997 called the then presidential candidate, Mary McAleese, a "sectarian time bomb".

The outgoing President and her husband proved them wrong a thousand times over in a Presidency that encompassed all of our island and all of our people. President McAleese embraced the marginalised and those who were discriminated against. She learned and used the Irish language while in office and she represented the nation abroad in an exemplary fashion.

Ar ár son uile, gabhaimid buíochas léi agus guimid gach rath ar obair an Uachtaráin nua, Micheál D. Ó hUiginn.

An Ceann Comhairle

The next speaker is Deputy Finian McGrath. I note he is sharing time.

Deputy Finian McGrath

Yes. I wish to share time with Deputies Maureen O'Sullivan and Mattie McGrath.

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for this opportunity to pay tribute to the great work of President Mary McAleese on her last day as President of this country. She has served her country well for 14 magnificent years. She is a person of great courage, integrity and a President who reached out and built many bridges with all of our people on the island. That was the constant theme during her 14 years as President. She has helped us all to come on a long journey. The regular contribution of our President during the past number of years has been to reach out to the marginalised, bringing people, North and South, together, particularly cross-party. She was also a magnificent woman in reaching out to people with disabilities, particularly people with intellectual disabilities. She had 14 years of opening the Áras to bring in people with disabilities and many of other marginalised groups. I commend and thank her for that.

It is important in paying tribute that we also say to Mary McAleese: "we thank you for helping us all to try to build a democratic, inclusive country". That is something we all needed, and a vision I have always had. I always wanted a President who would bring Catholic, Protestant, dissenter, Hindu, Muslim, Jew and non-believers together, celebrating diversity and accommodating difference. That is what Mary McAleese did during the past 14 years, for which I commend her.

Mary McAleese has spent her time as President building bridges and reaching out to the opposite side of the community. We have a duty as Members of this House to continue on that journey to reach out and break down barriers, particularly to reach out to people who are on the opposite side of the fence and to many people with whom we would strongly disagree. Many bridges have to be built and we have to try to do our best to end political exclusion. That to me was also a theme of Mary McAleese. I encourage all of our people to carry on that tradition and the great vision of President Mary McAleese.

I pay special tribute to her husband, Martin, for his own great peace work and particularly in reaching out to the loyalist and Unionist communities. This type of peace-building is at times not very popular or trendy but when good people do it and they deliver all of us have a duty to acknowledge and respect that. However, there is also a lesson in that. We need to get balance and to ensure that all of us are fair to all of the people directly affected by the conflict on this island. That is something we, as Members of the Oireachtas, need to do.

I welcome this opportunity to congratulate Mary McAleese on her 14 wonderful years and I wish her, Martin and their family the best of luck in the future.

Deputy Maureen O’Sullivan

We are so conscious today of restraints, budgetary requirements, cuts and so on that I know people are questioning if the Office of the President is cost effective, of any use, whether it makes a difference and should we be considering its abolition. A viciousness was brought into the recent campaigns for the Presidency with which we could have very much done without. We do not need that kind of thing to uncover the truth. On the question of whether the Presidency makes a difference, going back to our first President, Douglas Hyde, we can say that each of our Presidents, in his or her own different way, has made a major contribution to Irish society.

President McAleese and her family and their residency, Áras an Uachtaráin, are in the constituency of Dublin Central which I represent, so there is an added poignancy to today. We also very much appreciated the fact that she took time to come to the removal of the late Tony Gregory two years ago.

I read the article by the northern editor in yesterday's edition of The Irish Times in which he looked at her role in terms of the North and reminded us of the abusive comments she had to put up with in the beginning of her term as President and yet by the time she was finishing her term of office she had won so much respect from so many Unionists in the North, and that is a considerable achievement. The one quality that is very obvious is her perseverance and that she did not give up no matter what was being thrown at her.

She understood the complexity of the North because she came from there. She spoke this morning at an event for the homeless about how she knew what it was like to be homeless. I look at her as a bridge builder and as a person with a great sense of humanity. In that article yesterday, which was wonderful and worth quoting, the northern editor wrote that she felt it was important to say the gentle word and the healing word instead of the bitter world. That sort of legacy is wonderful.

I was at an event this morning with marginalised people launching a drugs programme in the north inner city and I listened to the President on radio. She was talking about where she was, which was at a shelter for homeless men. That, to me, is what she is all about.

I am also struck by the difference between a President like her and royalty. Looking at pictures of her at the time of the Omagh bombing and at other events, she was able to go out and put her arms around people, shake their hands and she had that common, human touch that so many members of the royalty do not have.

She made mistakes and that is wonderful. She made comments and did things that people did not like and that also showed her humanity. To use an inversion of the phrase "behind every great man there is a great woman", in her case, behind this great woman there was a great man.

I finish with words that were used here on another occasion long before my time by a person who said he had done the State some service. President McAleese has done the State some service.

Deputy Mattie McGrath

Tá mé an-bhuíoch as an seans seo chun cúpla focal a rá mar gheall ar shár-obair an Úachtaráin, Mháire Mhic Giolla Íosa. I am privileged to speak about the outgoing President, Mary McAleese. Article 15.1 of the Constitution deals with the Oireachtas and the Office of the Presidency.

Even though 14 years is a long time, every minute of the President's tenure has been spent tirelessly working at home and abroad on behalf of Irish people. She shone a beacon of light on all that is good about Ireland and the Irish people. She encouraged and supported the efforts of people in every community in these 32 counties. One of her greatest strengths was the way she made herself available to perform a wide range of functions, whether the opening of community halls or voluntary housing schemes, officiating at all-Ireland matches or supporting services for the needy. She supported and encouraged the volunteer groups without which our country would be much worse off. I am sure our next President will do likewise and I wish him well in his new role.

Her greatest achievement was on the peace process, on which she worked with her husband, Senator McAleese. I acknowledge the Taoiseach's decision to appoint Martin McAleese to the Seanad and I look forward to working with him when he fully takes up his responsibilities. They broke down barriers and built trust between communities. She defied the comments that were made against her during her election campaign and proved her detractors wrong.

Two delegations from the Northern Ireland Assembly visited the Houses of the Oireachtas this morning. History will be kind to the President and her husband. Whether she remains in a public role or resumes private life, she will be a good ambassador for her country. I wish the President, her husband and her three children a long and fruitful life. They can look with pride on the contribution she made to this country.

Sitting suspended at 3.35 p.m. and resumed at 3.40 p.m.